Kneejerk reaction
by JolinarJackson
Summary: A second try to dial home goes awry and Eli's the one who saves the day.


**Kneejerk Reaction**

_Word Count: _998

_Summary: _A second try to dial home goes awry and Eli's the one who saves the day.

_Characters: _Eli Wallace, Nicholas Rush, Everett Young, Dale Volker, Adam Brody, Lisa Park, Chloe Armstrong, Tamara Johansen

_Rating: _PG

_Spoiler: Earth_

_Setting: _after_ Sabotage_

_Author's Note: _Written for the stargate_las. The prompt was _[insert character] does something brave but stupid_.

_Feedback: _Can't breathe without it.

_Disclaimer: _I'm not making money with this fanfic. The tv-show _Stargate Universe_ and the characters appearing within it belong to their producers and creators. Any similarities to living or dead persons are purely coincidental and not intended.

XXX

XXX

Eli had to admit that his idea had been kinda stupid.

"What were you thinking?" Rush glared at him.

Eli swallowed, fiddling with the blanket of the bed he was sitting on.

"Sorry."

It sounded like a question. This day had gone to hell pretty fast. Just this morning, _Destiny_ had been heading for a sun to recharge. After breakfast, Eli had reported to Rush in the control room.

_Rush and Young's voices were loud enough to be heard from a mile away._

"_It won't work," Rush said._

"_We have to try."_

_Eli entered the room, seeing Rush at his usual place at the apple core and Young standing defiantly beside him. Volker, Park and Brody were standing near the wall, listening intently. Rush's next words confirmed that they had caused the fight._

"_I won't throw our lives away for a stupid idea those three idiots cooked up." _

"_Hey!" Volker said, insulted. _

_Rush ignored him._

"_They're going to kill us."_

_Young however was determined._

"_We're doing it. With or without you."_

_For a moment, silence reigned, and then Rush said, "Without me."_

"_Alright." Young gestured for the three scientists to follow his lead and they left. Eli cleared his throat and took his place at an empty screen._

_Rush glanced at him._

"_Those idiots will blow up the ship."_

"_Well, shouldn't you help them to avoid that?"_

_Rush shook his head._

"_It would be my fault when we fail just because Young wants it to be my fault."_

"_What are they going to do?"_

"_They were playing around with the Gate and now they think that they can avoid the problem Telford had while trying to dial home. They think that a buffer can contain the energy the sun will give us so that they can control it."_

"_And that won't work?" Eli guessed._

"_Of course not. The Gate will overload and the ship will explode."_

"_Sounds kinda definite."_

"_Oh, yeah!"_

_XXX_

_Eli decided to watch the experiment. After all, if he was going to die today he at least wanted a front-row seat. He didn't seem to be the only one to think so. Most of the crew were gathered on the balcony in the Gateroom. Matt and Greer were talking to a team of soldiers and Volker, Brody and Park were standing at the consoles, explaining something to Young. Eli's curiosity got the better of him and he went to eavesdrop._

"_Rush has doubts," Young said, "and I can't blame him."_

"_It's not a 100% secure," Brody nodded. _

_Lisa said, "Maybe 95%."_

_Volker explained, "The compensators are isolated, the buffer's installed and all the calculations look promising."_

"_Good," Young nodded, "let's get started." He nodded at Matt and the soldiers went to guard the doors and the stairs._

_Eli asked, "Shouldn't we pack or something?"_

_Volker shook his head._

"_If this works, we can keep the Gate open for a long time. My calculations say that Destiny will stay in the sun, replenishing its energy resources, until the Gate will close. We have enough time."_

_Eli's eyebrows shot upwards. Brody, Volker and Park were smart guys but this sounded too good to be true. Brody raised a hand._

"_We entered the sun."_

_Lisa started dialing._

"_Chevron one locked," she said._

_Eli looked at Volker._

"_Where's the buffer?"_

"_Behind the Gate," the scientist answered._

"_Chevron three locked."_

_Eli looked at the Stargate._

"_Chevron four locked."_

_Brody muttered, "I knew that he would turn up."_

_Eli followed his eyes and found Rush lurking in the shadow of the doorway._

"_Chevron six locked."_

_Energy discharges caressed the Gate and the crew on the balcony started to whisper in concern._

_Brody looked at Young._

"_It's okay," he said._

"_Chevron eight locked."_

_More discharges were brushing over the ring and the Gate moaned in protest._

"_Brody?" Young asked. The discharges were hitting the walls, the floor and the ceiling by now. The people on the balcony cried out in shock and Matt and Greer ran up the stairs to push them out of the room._

"_Stop it!" Young called. _

"_I can't," Brody answered, his breath hitching in panic, and he stared at Rush helplessly. The Scotsman wasted no time and looked at the screens. Eli knew that time was running out. He ran towards the Gate._

"_Eli!" Chloe called. He tripped, managing to avoid being hit by one of the discharges, and fell to his knees beside the buffer where he proceeded to rip all the cables out that were connecting the energy lines with it. He cried out when a sharp pain exploded in his hand. The Gateroom was dark now, the Gate sighed deeply and then the noise ceased. It was eerily quiet. _

_Then the lights flickered on and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. _

_Volker announced, "Energy's being replenished."_

"_Eli!" Chloe called, pushing past Greer and running down the stairs towards the Gate, TJ on her heels. Eli stared at them dazedly. The woman knelt down next to him and while Chloe threw her arms around him to pull him into a relieved hug, TJ was scanning him for injuries._

"_My hand," Eli said and flinched when TJ took a closer look._

_She pulled a face._

"_Badly burned."_

"_Is he alright?" somebody asked and Eli looked up at Rush in surprise. _

_TJ nodded._

"_I'll take a closer look but I think he's okay."_

Now Eli was sitting here in the infirmary, a bandage wrapped around his hand, and Rush was standing in front of him.

"You could have died," the scientist said. "Don't you know that we need you here?" He left in a huff.

Eli stared after him.

"Was that a compliment?" he asked the silence.

END

09/10


End file.
